Instant bingo game card

Abstract: In an instant bingo game card marking of numbers on a player card (18,20,22,24) portion is effected while the numbers are at all times visible, there being indicating means (26,28,30) adapted to function so as to provide a change from a darker to a lighter colour. In one embodiment the indicating means (26,28,30) is covered by a scratch-off layer.

Description: The invention relates to the field of instant lottery tickets and in particular to instant bingo game cards. The purpose of an instant bingo card or ticket is to simulate the play of a conventional bingo game utilizing instant lottery technology. An instant bingo card will normally include a caller card portion which has a number of combinations of letters and numbers covered by a latex or scratch-off coating. The letter-number combinations on the caller's card correspond to the letter-number combinations found on the balls that are typically drawn in a conventional bingo game. There are normally twenty five letter-number combination printed under the scratch-off coating. Also printed on an instant bingo card is a group of usually four to six player cards which are similar in format to bingo cards used by players in conventional bingo games. To play the game, a player will scratch off the coating over the letter-number combinations on the caller's card and mark on each of the player cards any numbers that may correspond to letter-number combinations on the caller's card. Usually printed on the instant bingo card adjacent to the player cards is an indication of the combinations that will result in the awarding of a prize. After marking the player cards, the player is able to determine if one or more of the player cards represent a winning combination and if a winning combination is present, the player can then present the card to a lottery agent to redeem the indicated prize(s). One of the challenges of producing a commercially satisfactory instant lottery card is to provide a method for marking the player cards which is convenient to use yet economical to manufacture. In one approach the numbers on the player cards are covered by a scratch-off coating and numbers corresponding directly to the numbers printed on the player card are printed, utilizing for example a technique disclosed in U.S. Patent 5,074,566, on the scratch-off coating. The player is then able to mark his cards by scratching off the numbers on his player card corresponding to the letter-number combinations on the caller card portion of the instant bingo card. This approach has two disadvantages in that it requires a second scratch-off area and more importantly requires two separate printings of the numbers on the player cards. These factors substantially increase the manufacturing cost of the card. The second scratch-off area also results in a great deal more scratch-off debris following the play of the game. A second technique, as disclosed in U.S. Patent 5,193,815, is to print a translucent coat of a scratchable material over the player cards which is pigmented so as to modify the appearance of the colour of the area under the translucent coat. By scratching off the translucent coat over a particular number on the player cards, the player can mark this number by the resulting apparent colour change. This approach has three disadvantages. First, when effecting the colour change the player's card area always changes from a darker colour to a lighter colour. This is the opposite of how a player marks his card in an actual bingo game. Second, the colour(s) of the player's cards before rubbing (marking) are always created colours. The created colour(s) are the combination of the colour of the underlying layer on which the player's numbers are printed and the colour of the translucent tinted layer. Colours created in this fachion are limited by the tint of the scratch-off translucent layer. The colour of the translucent layer is limited in that it must be of sufficient contrast to result in easily discernible marks of the player's card when removed but no so dark as to make reading of the player's number difficult prior to removal. Finally, the scratch-off layer over the player's cards results in more scratch-off debris following play of the game. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an instant bingo card having player cards with a method of marking numbers on the player cards that result in high contrast with a minimum in production costs and less scratch - off debris following play of the game. Another object of the invention is to provide an instant bingo card having player cards with a relatively small marked space located adjacent to each number on the player cards covered with a scratch-off coataing. To mark a number the player scratches off the coating adjacent to the number revealing an indicator symbol such as a red "x". Another object of the invention is to provide an instant bingo card having player cards where numbers on the player cards can be marked by simply applying pressure to the numbers to be marked. To accomplish this objective, a colour former and an activator are applied to the player card area. By microencapsulating either the colour former or the activator, colour change is inhibited until pressure is applied by the player to the number to be marked. In one embodiment of the invention, the colour former is applied over the numbers printed on the card substrate and the activator or colour developer is laid down in microencapsulated form over the colour former. Following is a description, by way of example only, of one method of carrying the invention into effect, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a plan view of one embodiment of an instant bingo game card in accordance with the present invention. Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings there is shown an instant bingo game card 10 and located on the left side of the card 10 is a caller's card 12 illustrated in broken away form with the lower portion showing a latex scratch-off material 14 and the upper portion showing a set of letter-number combinations represented generally at 16 that are printed on the card 10 underneath the scratch-off coating 14. It is the letter-numbers 16 that are equivalent to the letter-numbers that appear on balls drawn in a conventional bingo game. Arrayed on the right hand side of the card 10 is a group of four players cards 18-24 each of which includes a column of five numbers located below each of the letters BINGO. Along side each of the numbers printed on the players cards 18-24 is a space containing a mark as shown by the representative examples 26, 28 and 30. Each of the marks represented at 26-30 is covered by a scratch-off material of the same type used for the scratch-off material used on the caller's card 12 as shown for example at 32 and 33. During manufacture of the card 10, the latex covers, represented at 26-30 placed over the marks on the players cards 18-24, are applied in the same process step as the covering 14 on the caller's card 12. The marks as shown at 26-30 facilitate the playing of the bingo game on the card 10 by making it possible for the player to mark the letter-number combinations 16 that appear on the caller's card 12 on each of the players cards 18-24. For example, the letter-number combination G49 that is printed at location 34 on the caller's card 12 can readily be marked on the players cards 22 and 24 by simply removing the scratch-off coating covering these marks 26 and 28 which are adjacent to the numbers 49 printed on the players cards 22 and 24. Visual perception of the marks 26-30 can be enhanced by selecting a colour for the marks that provides for maximum contrast between the marks and the background material on the players cards 18-24 upon which the numbers are printed. For example red can be used for the marks 26-30 where the background material on the players cards 18-24 is yellow, white, light blue and light green, respectively. Thus this embodiment of the invention permits the selection of a wide variety of colours for the players cards 18-24 so that the cards 10 can be designed for maximum player appeal while at the same time promoting ease of use by the players.

Claims: A game card (10) comprising a substrate; a plurality of play indicia (16) printed on a first location (12) on said substrate; a first opaque scratch-off coating (14) applied over said play indicia (16) to permit a player to select said play indicia (16) by removing portions of said first opaque scratch-off coating (14) covering said selected play indicia (16); a plurality of marks printed on a second location (18,20,22,24) on said substrate spaced apart from said first location (12) characterised in that said marks include a first portion (26,28,30) covered by a second opaque scratch-off coating (32,33) and a second portion having marking indicia not covered by said opaque scratch-off coating (32,33) and in that one of said marking indicia uniquely represents each of said play indicia (16) such that removal of said second opaque scratch-off coating (32,33) from one of said marks by the player will serve to mark the corresponding player indicia represented by the marking indicia of said one of said marks. A game card as claimed in Claim 1 characterised in that said second scratch-off coating (32,33) is made of the same material as said first scratch-off coating (14). A game card a claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterised in that said play indicia (16) and said marking indicia are a letter-number combinations. A game card as claimed in Claim 3 characterised in that said first location (12) is configured as a bingo caller's card with said play indicia (16) printed as an array of said letter-number combinations and said second location (18,20,22,24) is configured as a plurality of player cards with said marks printed in arrays in said player cards.

Inventors: BEHM WILLIAM FREDERICK, TEVIS MARK CHILES, BEHM, WILLIAM FREDERICK, TEVIS, MARK CHILES
Applicants: SCIENT GAMES INC, SCIENTIFIC GAMES INC.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: A63F3
IPC codes: A63F3